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Topic: Tomato sauce (Read 3296 times)

cornershot

The tomatoes are piling up and it's almost time to make sauce. I use a food mill to separate the pulp and juice from the seeds and skin, then cook it down for several hours to reduce it to a nice thick consistency before canning. It tastes great but always seems to separate so that I have thick stuff sitting on top of my spaghetti and watery juice runs out below. What is the secret to keeping it homogenized?

The tomatoes are piling up and it's almost time to make sauce. I use a food mill to separate the pulp and juice from the seeds and skin, then cook it down for several hours to reduce it to a nice thick consistency before canning. It tastes great but always seems to separate so that I have thick stuff sitting on top of my spaghetti and watery juice runs out below. What is the secret to keeping it homogenized?

Go with the flow, let it seperate and remove it from the watery portion....IMO.

Nothing to add, just want to follow this thread since I just made 5 big freezer bags of stewed tomatoes (I don't can, I freeze). My tomatoes are literally rotting on the vine because I have so many so I'm keen on trying your tomato sauce recipe. Made some tomato juice too so it's gonna be homemade Bloody Mary's tonight (would make homemade Caesar's but it's hard to find clams in Ontario).

The tomatoes are piling up and it's almost time to make sauce. I use a food mill to separate the pulp and juice from the seeds and skin, then cook it down for several hours to reduce it to a nice thick consistency before canning. It tastes great but always seems to separate so that I have thick stuff sitting on top of my spaghetti and watery juice runs out below. What is the secret to keeping it homogenized?

Go with the flow, let it seperate and remove it from the watery portion....IMO.

Been going with the flow for years. We love our sauce. It's a weekly staple year round. But we'd like to improve the consistency a bit. It doesn't separate in the jar or when heated. It doesn't seem to separate until I put it on pasta or pizza.

Gmac, my "recipe":

1.5 bushels of plum tomatoes, strained through a food mill. This yields about 9 gallons of puree which I simmer slowly for several hours until it's reduced to a nice consistency, about 6 gallons. About 6 large onions and a lot of garlic(can you use too much garlic?) are sauteed in olive oil until softened and added with 15 minutes left to simmer(cook like a brewer!) Sometimes we also add green peppers or wild mushrooms.A big pile of fresh parsley, oregano, and basil are added at flameout.Kosher salt to taste and can all but enough for dinner. Everything but the olive oil and salt are homegrown. Great on pasta, lasagna, chicken or eggplant parmesan, or pizza, etc. I know some people simmer with soup bones for some extra umami and others sweeten with sugar. But we like to keep it simple.

cornershot

Your recipe looks great Big Al. I do much the same but on a smaller scale - I don't can it, but just make it for individual meals. Canning makes more sense though.

Thank you! We do this twice in August and September for a total of 50-60 quarts. It's a lot of work now for easy cooking later. That's important for the days I want to brew instead of cook! Do you have any issues with your sauce separating?

No. I think it must just happen over time in the jars. I juice and seed mine (as you do), cook down to a nice consistency and it stays together nicely. However I do it in the very short term as mentioned. BTW some fresh spicy Italian sausages slow cooked in the sauce, and served over pasta is mighty fine. The sauce flavors the sausages, and vice versa.

The tomatoes are piling up and it's almost time to make sauce. I use a food mill to separate the pulp and juice from the seeds and skin, then cook it down for several hours to reduce it to a nice thick consistency before canning. It tastes great but always seems to separate so that I have thick stuff sitting on top of my spaghetti and watery juice runs out below. What is the secret to keeping it homogenized?

Go with the flow, let it seperate and remove it from the watery portion....IMO.

Been going with the flow for years. We love our sauce. It's a weekly staple year round. But we'd like to improve the consistency a bit. It doesn't separate in the jar or when heated. It doesn't seem to separate until I put it on pasta or pizza.

Gmac, my "recipe":

1.5 bushels of plum tomatoes, strained through a food mill. This yields about 9 gallons of puree which I simmer slowly for several hours until it's reduced to a nice consistency, about 6 gallons. About 6 large onions and a lot of garlic(can you use too much garlic?) are sauteed in olive oil until softened and added with 15 minutes left to simmer(cook like a brewer!) Sometimes we also add green peppers or wild mushrooms.A big pile of fresh parsley, oregano, and basil are added at flameout.Kosher salt to taste and can all but enough for dinner. Everything but the olive oil and salt are homegrown. Great on pasta, lasagna, chicken or eggplant parmesan, or pizza, etc. I know some people simmer with soup bones for some extra umami and others sweeten with sugar. But we like to keep it simple.

Never sugar, but I do add a few carrots and celery sticks, chopped very fine in the food processor to the Onion/Garlic saute. It really adds an undefinable but nice roundness to the sauce. Some red wine, I often use vermouth and finish with a few tablespoons of Brandy.....way tasty. And yes, it's my go to meal on brew nights too! or any other time I'm just plain hungry and tired.

cornershot

Alewyfe, thanks for the tips. Made my sauce today. I didn't add carrots because my wife's allergic. No celery because I had a bad experience adding too much to a batch of veggie stock a couple years ago. I did beat the $#!+ out of it with a stick blender and added some red wine. Wife and I really like it.Hoosier, thanks. No doubt some sausage or meatballs will end up simmering at some point.

If you are putting whole tomatoes through the mill, you will get all the water stored in the fruit. We par-cook the tomatoes, then skin and seed by hand. That way we only have the pulp in the sauce. There is a lot of liquid in the seeds that won't get removed when you mill them. Our canned tomatoes and sauce do not separate.

If you are putting whole tomatoes through the mill, you will get all the water stored in the fruit. We par-cook the tomatoes, then skin and seed by hand. That way we only have the pulp in the sauce. There is a lot of liquid in the seeds that won't get removed when you mill them. Our canned tomatoes and sauce do not separate.

I used to do this but for 10-12 gallons of sauce it's a lot of work. I plant mostly plum tomatoes but also some beefsteaks and when it comes time to make sauce any and all ripe tomatoes go in the mix. Maybe this has something to do with it.

Cleaned out the tomatoes and the sauce is reducing as I type. Just going with onions and garlic plus oregano and Basil. Maybe a couple chilli peppers for a touch of heat. We shall see how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe.